Tuesday August 7, 2012

Truck bomb attack on Afghan NATO base

KABUL, Afghanistan: A truck bomb exploded at a NATO military base south of the Afghan capital Tuesday, wounding at least a dozen civilians, Afghan police said.

A spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force confirmed that "there has been an explosion at an ISAF facility in Logar province," but said there were no immediate reports of injuries among the troops.

"A truck loaded with explosives detonated at the coalition forces' camp in (provincial capital) Pule Alam city," provincial police chief Ghulam Sakhi Rogh Lewanai told AFP.

"So far we have information that 12 civilians have been injured," he said.

Taliban insurgents claimed the attack.

"At around 9:00 am (0430 GMT) one of our mujahideen (holy warriors) carried out a suicide truck bomb attack on a big US forces' camp resulting in many deaths and injuries," Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a text message.

Earlier Tuesday, a Taliban bomb killed eight people and wounded five when it struck a minibus on the western outskirts of Kabul, police said, amid growing unrest in areas neighbouring the Afghan capital.

ISAF, which has 130,000 US-led troops in Afghanistan, has noted a spike in attacks countrywide in recent months, since the start of the insurgents' annual summer offensive.

June saw the highest number of attacks in nearly two years, with more than 100 assaults a day across the country, including firefights and roadside bombings, the coalition said. - AFP

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Tuesday August 7, 2012

Truck bomb attack on Afghan NATO base